We Tried Subway's New Ghost Pepper Bread - It Brings Some Heat

Crank up the heat with Subway's all-new Ghost Pepper Bread. This hot-off-the-press limited release also features a duo of fresh, spicy sandwiches: Spicy Nacho Steak and Fiery Meatball — along with summer 2024's Spicy Nacho Chicken with a Ghost Pepper Bread upgrade. Plus there's a Subway Ghoster Redemption Giveaway for those of us who can totally commit to a discount 12-inch sandwich ... but, you know, not a serious relationship.

Starting now, you can add the Ghost Pepper Bread to any sub on the menu, and order the new sandwiches as 6-inch or 12-inch versions. But if you're wondering what the deal is with the ghost pepper trend, the chili also known as bhüt jolokia in hot pepper circles is notorious for bringing the heat. Just to put it in perspective, a pepperoncini clocks in at a timid 100 Scoville heat units (SHUs), a jalapeño pepper puts out up to 8,000 SHUs, and the ghost pepper easily tops them both with a whopping 1,000,000+ SHUs. Before the Carolina Reaper creator's "Pepper X" walloped fans with more than 2,600,000 SHUs in 2023, the ghost pepper nabbed the Guinness World Record for hottest pepper in 2007.

But you can put the glass of milk back in the fridge; Subway's Ghost Pepper Bread isn't nearly as hot as the ghost pepper itself. Still, that doesn't mean you're not gonna feel some sizzle. Take a spicy little trip to 6-Inch Sandwich Town with me and find out if you're down to get ghosted by Subway.

Subway's ghost pepper launch features what the chain calls its spiciest bread ever. It sounds like a flammable ingredient warning until you remember that the bar had previously been set at Italian Herb and Cheese-level heat. (Which is not hot.) The headlines might ring true, but just how spicy is Subway's new ghost pepper bread?

"Spicy food is wildly popular, and our guests have told us they are craving more spice on our menu," says Subway's senior VP of culinary and innovation, Paul Fabre, of the first sub switch-up in three years. This loaf might remind you of the chain's former Jalapeño Cheddar Bread, except with what looks like crumbled nacho tortilla chip powder coating everything. In reality, the chain's Artisan Italian bread gets covered in ghost pepper, paprika, and habanero-spiked panko breadcrumbs, then sprinkled with Monterey cheddar cheese and exactly 4 jalapeño slices for every 12 inches worth of sub.

Available on its own as a 240-calorie 6-inch, or a 480-calorie 12-inch loaf, peppery flavor dishes a quick pinch in the back of my throat, but eventually almost disappears on the tongue. The cheese just seems to be there to provide lamination to keep everything in place. As far as the line of Subway breads go, this one's definitely the most intriguing (and spicy). Just don't go comparing it to any cheesy breads that might be a little more upscale than this fast food sandwich chain, mkay?

If you came for the meat, the #34 Subway Spicy Nacho Steak sandwich is for you. The 1000-calorie footlong features shaved steak, cheddar cheese sauce, red onions, green peppers, jalapeños, Creamy Sriracha, and SubKrunch. Even the 6-inch version eats like a meal.

After spending a moment wondering if my sandwich was assembled upside down because all the Ghost Pepper Bread flair was on the bottom, I assumed that maybe it's meant to be eaten like a meat canoe, and not confined to sandwich standards. Still, even after I bit into it, my brain would not accept "nacho steak" as a concept. Instead, I was getting spicy cheesesteak vibes because of the obvious use of classic cheesesteak ingredients. While pepperheads will think there's zero heat, the rest of us might appreciate the flavorful warmth of this mild spice. Tender beef had zero weird bits, and I loved the contrast in textures with the crunchy veg and crusty bread. This bun felt a little softer and chewier than the other sandwiches I sampled, but there was definitely enough meat to not feel like you're eating off the kids' menu.

This was my first interaction, however, with SubKrunch. These crispy little breaded bits were launched in July 2024 to add crunchy texture to your sub. But IRL, they turn to mush immediately after touching moisture. Like an imaginary character written off of "SpongeBob SquarePants," SubKrunch needs to exit the picture.

This was my favorite of the new line of Ghost Pepper Bread sandwiches. The 1,330-calorie footlong serves up several slices of smoky pepperoni, tender meatballs with marinara sauce, pepper jack cheese, jalapeño peppers, creamy sriracha, and nutty parmesan. Maybe I also (subconsciously) preferred it because there was zero SubKrunch.

Flagrantly judging these bread books by their covers, the presence of meatballs, pepperoni, and cheese pressed into its own meat sandwich — tucked inside the actual bread sandwich — has me feeling the Italian meatball sub energy before I even taste it. But mamma mia, Subway, it's pretty dang delicious. While the sauce packs plenty of Italian-style seasoning, this sandwich doesn't seem as "fiery" as the other two nacho subs do. Maybe it's the fact that meatballs bring comfort and serenity instead of hellfire? Or perhaps it all comes down to the spice-buffering power of creamy, melted cheese and the warm blanket of marinara sauce. After letting a bite linger longer on my tongue, I can feel a little heat from the sriracha. I appreciate smaller meatballs that don't Hulk through the structure of the bread, or require inhumanly extra-wide bites. Even if the Ghost Pepper Bread is just here to hold everything together, I dig this unexpectedly spicy twist on the traditional meatball parm.

Subway debuted it's Spicy Nacho Chicken back in July 2024, but — at least according to my local Subway in Los Angeles — it's back on the menu board as "new." Maybe it's just because it was upgraded with the new Ghost Pepper Bread, but I'm too far into the ghost pepper life to turn back now.

To refresh your memory, the 960-calorie footlong features semi-shredded rotisserie-style chicken, cheddar cheese sauce, red onions, peppers, jalapeño peppers (with the seeds), creamy sriracha sauce, and SubKrunch. All of these items work better if you don't open the sandwich and take a photo like I did. Just let the chain toast it and wrap it up for you, and then get straight to the eating.

The chicken is tender; I always love a sriracha sauce; and the peppers, onions, and jalapeños add a welcome veggie crunch. This is exactly the flavor we've all come to expect from anything categorized as "nacho." And yeah, maybe I assumed that a cool, orange cat with sunglasses would appear and point finger guns at me like I made a really great choice with this sandwich (which didn't happen), but I persist. I was unaware of the inclusion of cheese sauce until I read up on the ingredients. Maybe it soaked into the bread? Still, the whole thing's definitely got a kick. And the red onions make sense because those are the correct onions for nacho things, according to society.

You've uncovered a limited edition launch, y'all. And while this drop hit nationwide on October 16, 2024, there's no word on how fast Ghost Pepper Bread — or the new sandwich lineup — will be ghosting your local Subway. Better get your buns in gear if you wanna taste the heat.

"We wanted to surprise our guests with something unexpected and capable of elevating every sub on our menu," says Subway VP Paul Fabre, senior VP of culinary and innovation. But with a slew of other new menu items popping up in 2024 — like June's footlong churro and cookie, September's Wild & Mild menu, and April's lavash wrap swap for tortillas — you can never be sure how long any new drop will last. This chain keeps the ol' favorites on rotation while mixing it up, but if you want the new Ghost Pepper Bread to stick around for a while, you're gonna have to throw down the cash to make your case. Until then, this limited time is ticking.

If you've ever ghosted an ex or even a one-time crush, you could win a duo of footlongs — assembled just for you, and your former flame — to reignite your romance in the name of Subway sandwiches. (If there's a better reason, I don't wanna know what it is.)

This is a judgment-free zone. But if you've done someone wrong, you can now make it right and toasty. Enter the Subway Ghoster Redemption giveaway from October 17 through October 20 to be one of the first 10,000 fans to cop to the errors of your ways (with a full written confession in 500 words or less — plus a convincing reason for redemption), and win two footlongs for the discounted price of $12.99. That's an even better deal for customers living in a region where footlongs go for $14 each. But beware: This sandwich sweepstakes is based on dating science, you guys. With 87% of millennials claiming they've been ghosted at some point in their lives, you can at least Casper yourself into existence to chow down on a Subway sandwich.

If you're coming for the ghost pepper hurt, you're probably going to be disappointed. (I have never tasted a raw ghost pepper, but my gut tells me this isn't it.) Even so, if you've been hoping for a little spice with your submarine sandwich, Subway Ghost Pepper Bread is worth a shot the next time you find yourself bellying up to the assembly line, basking in the green and yellow lights of the Subway sign.

But while the new sandwiches arrive with plenty of peppery fireworks, the unique flavor of the Ghost Pepper Bread ends up getting lost in the shadows of ingredients like the much-spicier creamy sriracha. As a control group (I think I just graduated from Fast Food University, with a PhD in Sandwichology), I also tried the Ghost Pepper Bread on the #15 Subway Titan Turkey, and I have to say it might be the best use of this new roll. (I ordered it toasted — which I highly recommend to bring out the most flavor, and more-fun-to-chew textures.) Playing off the unassuming turkey, provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and mayo in the turkey sando, Ghost Pepper Bread finally gets its moment in the spotlight. But while we're on the topic of customization, allow me to add a small note of advice: Do humanity a favor and ask your Sandwich Artisan to skip the instantly-soggy SubKrunch.